Charm Bracelet
by Starcrossd
Summary: Harry finds a bracelet he thought was gone forever. The bracelet brings back memories of a long-lost friend. It seems like romance at some point, but it's actually very close friendship. See Chapter Eleven, FIN
1. Gloves

(A/N: My second Harry Potter fic. Much angst, prepare yourself. This fic takes place in year two.)  
  
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It was a cold day in November, much like the one that will be talked about later in the story, Harry and Ron had just woken up when Ron spotted the frost on the window and cursed himself.  
  
"Stupid me," he said angrily. "I let Fred and George borrow my gloves and they hexed them to make me shake hands with everyone I see!" The red-headed young wizard sighed. "Harry, have you got a pair I can borrow?"   
  
Harry looked up from having just put on his new pair that he'd gotten earlier in Diagon Alley. "Just in case," the woman at the store had said. "You'd best buy a pair. Gets cold up there at Hogwarts, I remember my days..." That was about the time Harry paid and walked out of the store to let her reminisc in peace.  
  
He took them off and tossed them to Ron with a smile. "If I'm not mistaken," said Harry. "I have an old pair in the bottom of my trunk. I'll grab them, just wait up for me. You can be my witness to tell McGonagall why I was late for Transfiguration."  
  
Ron nodded and pulled the dark green gloves on. "Thanks," he said.  
  
"No problem," came Harry's muffled voice from behind the lid of the trunk. After a few moments he stood up holding a rather tattered pair of blue-grey gloves. "Got them from Dudley," he said, sticking his tongue out in mock disgust. "But, they'll do for now. Maybe you can ask your mum to knit you some later."  
  
"Yeah." Ron said in agreement. "Maroon, no doubt."  
  
Harry laughed as he pulled on one of the gloves and flexed his fingers to make sure they fit alright. As he pulled on the other one he felt something cold and yanked his hand back out with the metallic object hanging on his hand.  
  
Almost immediately, his eyes bugged out in surprise and he nearly dropped it. Ron, curious, stepped over beside Harry and got a good look at what his friend held. Harry simply stared, mouth agape.  
  
"It's a charm bracelet," said Ron. "Don't girls usually wear those, Harry?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Why do you have one?"  
  
"I...uh...we're late for class, Ron, let's go." Harry shoved the bracelet into his pocket and pulled on the glove. He grabbed his bookbag and notioned for Ron to hurry before running down the stairs to the common room and out into the hallways of Hogwarts castle.  
  
------  
  
"...and to answer your question, Miss Granger, Animagi's do not have to register themselves twice if they become and caterpillar and then a butterfly," Professor McGonagall droned on. "They can just register under 'caterpillar/butterfly'. Though, I don't see why anyone would want to become an insect, being stepped upon doesn't sound like the honorable way to go. Or as an exhibit," she added with a shudder. "Any other questions?"  
  
Most of her students were paying attention, including Hermione of course. Harry, though, simply stared at the Professor to make it look like he was paying attention, but actually he had his mind on other matters.  
  
'I can't believe it,' he thought. 'All this time...why didn't I remember it was in there? Didn't I see what I was packing last summer?'   
  
Memories of his childhood, well, his younger childhood, came flooding back to him. Back before he'd ever come to Hogwarts, even before he began recieving letters, there was something else in his life. To be precise, there was -someone- else. It was his first real friend, a real person.   
  
As the class went on, Harry sunk deeper and deeper into thought. He absently stuck his hand in his pocket and felt the bracelet there. He remembered the charms and named them by feel. The teddy bear, the star, the horse...there were ten in all.   
  
Ron spotted Harry's dazed expression and nudged him lightly in the ribs. "Are you okay?" he whispered, a look of worry on his face.  
  
"Yeah," Harry said. "Just thinking."  
  
"You look like you're off in space."  
  
"Just passed Saturn."  
  
The boys snickered and earned themselves a glare of 'one-more-time-and-it's-detention-for-you' from Professor McGonagall. They stopped and quickly wrote down something to serve as notes to make her think they'd been paying attention the entire time.  
  
After a few minutes, Harry was once again off in his own world. He was thinking of back then, not too long before his Hogwarts letters, but long enough for his memory to be hazy. For some reason, though, he hadn't forgotten a thing of what had happened. It had been pushed out of his mind until that morning when he found the bracelet again.  
  
The bracelet brought everything back to him in a haze of memories good and bad.  
  
------  
  
(A/N: First chapter was a little short, yeah...sorry 'bout that.) 


	2. The Secret

(A/N: This story goes back and forth from flashback to present-day Hogwarts. Look for the labels and you'll understand.)  
  
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PAST: PRIVET DRIVE  
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"YOU BROKE IT!" Dudley roared, the sound of shattering porcelain having just rattled the house.  
  
"I did not!" Harry retorted angrily. "You did it, you were throwing that ball at me!"  
  
"And if you hadn't moved out of the way, it wouldn't have gotten hit!"  
  
The two were fighting over who had broken Dudley's beloved piggy bank that he kept on a shelf in his room. He'd called Harry in there to get him to hand the rubber ball he'd been playing with back to him whenever he dropped it. Harry, reluctantly, had agreed in an attempt to keep his aunt and uncle somewhat 'happy' with him. Dudley had thought it would be funny to throw the ball straight at Harry, who moved and, well, here we are.  
  
"What did you expect me to do, stand there and let you break my nose?" Harry yelled, giving Dudley a glare.  
  
"Better you than Mister Clacker," Dudley grumbled, looking down at his broken bank. "You'll pay for that."  
  
Harry had only a moment to catch the look of pure evil in his cousin's eyes before he took off running down the stairs. Dudley, who was slower, gave chase up until Harry ran outside. He watched the scrawny ten year old duck behind a hedge, where Harry thought that Dudley couldn't see him. His somewhat evil cousin laughed and locked the backdoor, then passed his attention to the television set and left.  
  
"Stupid pig," muttered Harry, crouched between two hedges and leaning against a fence. "But which one? Both." He grinned slightly at his own joke and sighed, leaning his head back against the wood. He heard something on the other side of the fence, but dismissed it as either a stray animal or the wind. 'I'll just sit here,' he thought. 'Nice and shaded, away from Dudley. Looks kind of like a hidden cove, except with a fence...'  
  
After sitting there for a few moments, a small sound stirred him from his thoughts, which were currently on what he would wear if he were a pirate and whether or not he would say 'arg' after every sentence. It was someone humming from the other side of the fence. Moments passed and the humming grew louder. Pretty soon, Harry could make out the tune to 'Greensleeves'.   
  
"I-is someone there?" asked Harry nervously. He was answered by a panicked squeak.  
  
"I'm sorry!" came a little girl's voice from behind him. "I didn't know anyone was out here. I didn't disturb you, did I?"  
  
"No, actually, I liked it."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. Say, are you with the family that just moved next door?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
'Duh,' he thought. 'Why else would she be there?'  
  
"Mind if I ask your name?"  
  
"Madison! Madison Durelle. What's yours?"  
  
"Harry Potter."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Harry. I'm nine years old, how old are you?" Naturally, to a child, age is something to be proud of.  
  
"Just turned ten four months ago."  
  
"I'll be ten this month," said Madison cheerfully.  
  
"When?"  
  
"The twenty-eight of November."  
  
It was the currently the eleventh.  
  
"That's good, I hope you have a good birthday." Harry said, now beginning to enjoy a normal conversation. Normal conversations, for him, consisted between himself and some sort of animal or inanimate object, usually. Not that he was crazy, but that he was lonely.  
  
"Thanks," the girl said with a happy giggle.  
  
"MADISON!" an angry voice roared from the house on her side of the fence. "Get in here, now! What're you doing out in the bloody cold? Stupid child."  
  
"Sorry!" she called back. Then, to Harry she said, "That's my step-dad, John. He'll be really angry if I don't hurry up. It was nice meeting you, Harry...can you meet me back here tomorrow around noon?" Madison asked hopefully. "You see, I haven't made any friends yet--"  
  
"Sure," said Harry, glad to have made a friend himself.  
  
"Thanks!" she called. He heard her stand up from where she was sitting on the ground. "Bye, Harry. I'm coming, John!" she yelled towards the house and Harry heard her run off. He then realized that neither of them knew what the other looked like.  
  
------  
  
The next day, Harry watched the clock in the kitchen carefully until noon. Then, before either his uncle or aunt could order him to do something, he walked outside and sat down on the same patch of grass between the bushes as he had the day before and waited patiently for his new friend.  
  
"Harry?" he heard a small voice call after a moment or so of waiting. "You there?"  
  
"Yeah!" he said happily.   
  
"Good, I was hoping you would be. My mum and step-dad are fighting. I hate listening to them fight because my mother cries."  
  
Harry didn't say anything.  
  
"Do your parents fight a lot?" asked Madison.  
  
"No...my parents died when I was a baby."  
  
Madison gasped. "I'm sorry! I didn't upset you, did I? I'm so sorry if I upset you, Harry."  
  
"Erm...it's fine...don't feel bad about it..."  
  
Harry was confused. No one had even been so considerate with him, so caring. He had just started thinking about this when he heard a loud scream come from Madison's house, then he heard Madison crying.  
  
"Th-that was my mum," she sniffled. "S-sometimes w-when they...they fight, John h-hits her." Harry heard her sob. "I h-hate when they fight. Someti-times, John gets mad and hits m-me."  
  
A strange urge came over Harry and before he knew it he'd grabbed a stick from under the hedge and started digging.  
  
"What're you doing?" Madsion asked with a small hiccup. By then, Harry had finished and stuck his hand through the hole under the fence, feeling around until he was holding her hand.  
  
"Trying to make you feel better," he said. He was confusing himself. Why was he doing this? He never did things like this.  
  
"Thank you," she said softly. "You know, you're my first friend in a long time. Mummy and John wouldn't let me go to school back where I used to live. They said I had no business with those violent children. Mummy home-schools me. I don't get much of a chance to meet other kids."  
  
"I know how you feel," said Harry with a sigh as he leaned against the wood in an attempt at a comfortable postion with his hand under the fence. "Even though I go to public school, my cousin, Dudley, makes sure I don't make any friends. So, you're my first real friend too."  
  
"At least we have something in common, no matter how bad it is."  
  
"Yeah." Harry smiled. Suddenly, he felt something very cold on the hand he held with Madsion. "What is that?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"The metal thing. Are you wearing a bracelet?"  
  
"Oh, yes. Here, you can see it." She pulled her hand away and unclasped the bracelet, then carefully handed it to him through the hole under the fence. "Please be careful with it. It's my most prized possession. My real daddy gave it to me when I was a baby, before my mummy left him. See? There's one charm for each year of my life. Nine, see?"  
  
"Yeah," said Harry. He looked over the silver bracelet and its small, silver charms; a teddy bear, a star, a horse, a ballerina, a fairy, a kitten, a mermaid, a music note, and a snow flake. "It's really nice." He handed it back to her.  
  
"Mmhmm, but..." Madison sighed sadly. "This year I won't be getting a new charm. Mummy won't let daddy talk to me or anything. She said we're better off without him. I don't even know where he is."   
  
Harry heard her crying and reached under the fence to pat her hand in comfort. A plan was forming in his mind. It would be difficult, he knew, but it would really make his new friend happy. He was going to try and get her a new charm.  
  
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(A/N: I wrote all the plotting for this in school today. O_o; It took up four and a half pages.) 


	3. Harry's Odd Job

(A/N: Thanks to Avista for educating me on British currency and to Vet who reads everything I write. To get the fullness of the chapters in Hogwarts I suggest listening to 'Angel' by Sara McLaughlan.)  
  
Note: For some reason, earlier, chapter 2 took the place of chapters 1 and 2. So, if you've just started reading, you might want to make sure your first chapter started out with Harry on his way to Transfiguration. Thanks!  
  
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PRESENT: HOGWARTS  
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Ron and Hermione chattered happily about goodness-knows-what while Harry lagged along behind them, his hand in his pocket. He remembered that day. He remembered holding her hand while she cried and how different it felt, to be connected with another human being in such a way. 'Sometimes John gets mad and hits me...' Her words echoed in his mind and he cursed himself for not realizing it before.   
  
"I was so stupid," he muttered to himself, causing Hermione to turn around and look at him worriedly.  
  
"Are you alright, Harry? You look so sad, you've had your head down all day," she said, giving Ron's robes a tug to stop him from walking off so they could talk to Harry.  
  
"Well..." Harry looked down and pulled the bracelet a little ways from his pocket so only he could see it. "I've just got something on my mind."  
  
"You know you can talk to us, right?" Ron asked.  
  
"Yeah and thanks for being so concerned." He gave them a weak smile, which they returned warmly and gave his robes a tug to get him to follow along with them.  
  
"We're off to the Great Hall, Harry. In case you've completely cut off the world around you, I thought you might like to know that it's lunch time," said Hermione with a small laugh.  
  
"Good, I'm famished after turning those candles into peanuts in Transfiguration," said Harry.  
  
"They were supposed to be string beans," Ron said, arching a brow at Harry.  
  
"Oh, then no wonder Professor McGonagall gave that 'paying attention in class' lecture." Harry laughed.  
  
His two friends looked at him and exchanged glances with one another. Something was bothering him, they knew. Behind them, Harry sighed and kept his hand in his pocket.  
  
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PAST: PRIVET DRIVE  
------  
  
Two days after he first met Madison in the back yard, Harry awoke early, before the Dursley's did, and quietly went out the front. Petunia had left a list of chores from him to do on the refridgerator door, which he hurried to finish before noon. He wanted to have some extra time to talk to Madision and also to find some odd jobs he could actually get paid for. He'd never really wanted pocket money before, but he also had never wanted to buy a friend a birthday present before because he hadn't any.  
  
'Alright,' thought Harry, just after finishing with raking the Dursley's front lawn. 'It's 10:43, I've got time to go down the street a bit and ask that woman about the dogs.'  
  
Harry washed up, had himself a quick glass of orange juice, and left the house. The woman he was going to see was Miss Yvette Lafelliere, he'd heard Vernon talking about her before, who lived by herself with four dogs. The boy had often seen her struggling with the poodle, two miniature collies, and the one chocolate colored labrador as she walked down the street in the mornings. She couldn't really be walking the dogs, seeing as though they were actually walking her.  
  
Miss Lafelliere, who, as Harry would soon learn, preferred to be called 'Madame Yvette', was very small in size. Why she even tried to walk all those dogs by herself was beyond Harry, and that's why he thought it would be a good idea to ask for a job walking them for her.  
  
It wasn't long until he reached her house, which was just like all of the other houses on Privet, except this woman owned an old, blue jeep which Harry was able to mark her house by. He walked up to the door and knocked. Immediatley, he heard dogs barking in the house and he smiled.  
  
A few moments later, the door opened and there stood a not-so-old woman wearing what looked to be at least fifty multi-colored bracelets and necklaces. Harry tore his eyes away from the strange jewlery and gave the woman the most charming smile he could.  
  
"Yes?" The woman looked him over.  
  
"Hi, ma'am," said Harry. "I noticed you had a lot of dogs and I was looking for some odd jobs to earn pocket money. May I walk them for you?"  
  
Madame Yvette smiled broadly. "About time! I was hoping a youngster like yourself would ask me."  
  
He stared blankly for a moment. "Why didn't you put an ad in the paper?"  
  
"Because I don't read the paper. Bubblegoose here always wants to eat it, don't you Bubblegoosie?" Madame Yvette picked up the brown pomeranian (the other was white) and gave his head a loving nuzzle.  
  
(A/N: My best friend named Bubblegoose.)  
  
"Oh...well--"  
  
"I'll pay you two pounds a dog for each morning. Three for Maggie, she's my labrador, since she's such a handful. How does that sound?"  
  
Harry grinned like a maniac. "That sounds great!" Wow, getting a job wasn't hard at all. "Thanks, Miss Laf...er...Lafall...Fallaffal--"  
  
The woman laughed happily at him. "Call me Madame Yvette. It's easier to remember and easier to pronounce. Won't you come in, dear? I'll introduce you to the doggies and then you can go ahead and walk them." Without even waiting for him to reply, Madame Yvette grabbed Harry's arm and jerked him inside.  
  
He found himself pushed onto a dark blue couch and suddenly the woman was gone, though he could hear her humming in the kitchen.  
  
"Just a moment, dear!" she called. "I just made some cookies, won't you have one?"  
  
'Who makes cookies this early in the morning besides the bakery?' thought Harry. "Sure!" he called.  
  
The room he was in was normal enough, if it weren't for the frogs. On every shelf and mantle, on the coffee table and the television set, there was a frog. They weren't real frogs, as Harry soon realized, but there sure were a lot of them. Most were ceramic but he spotted a few plastic ones as well.  
  
On the couch beside Harry sat the black poodle, chewing happily on one of Madame Yvette's house slippers. Harry quietly took it from him and replaced it with a squeaky bone he'd spotted on the floor. The dog didn't seem phased at all. He spotted the brown pomeranian on the floor, napping, and the chocolate lab was stretched out in front of the merrily crackling fireplace. Luckily for him the dogs had learned to get along with one another and he wouldn't have to break up any doggie-quarrels while he walked them.  
  
Madame Yvette walked back into the room with a cookie wrapped in a napkin and a glass of milk for him.  
  
"Thank you," said Harry, feeling very grateful. Besides the cookie all he'd had that morning was orange juice.  
  
"You're welcome, dear. Now, let me introduce you to the doggies. This one," she pointed to the black poodle, "is Nicole. She's such a sweetie, never really bothers anyone. And this," Madame Yvette notioned to the brown pomeranian, "is Bubblegoose. Maggie, as you know, is the chocolate lab over there. And then there's Danny...hmm...where is little Danny?"  
  
She looked around the corner to the kitchen and called out. "Da-a-anny!"  
  
A little white pomeranian came running in and jumped into Harry's lap, nearly scaring the dickens out of him. Madame Yvette laughed softly. "That's Danny," she said.  
  
"Nice to meet you," Harry said, giving the dog a small pat on the head. Danny yipped and hopped onto the floor. Harry had, by then, finished his cookie and glass of milk..  
  
"Alright then," said Madame Yvette. "I usually take the doggies around the block and back, they really do like their walkies. Don't you, doggies?" She looked lovingly over her fuzzy companions before reaching into a desk drawer by the door and handing Harry four leashes.  
  
Harry, now very happy with himself for having acquired a job so quickly, leashed up the dogs and was soon on his way out the door and down the street.  
  
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(A/N: Madame Yvette was name after my best friend! Yay!) 


	4. Success

(A/N: This story is gonna get so sad...)  
  
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PAST: PRIVET DRIVE  
-------  
  
A week later, Harry sat on his bed in the cupboard under the stairs, counting his money. He grinned happily when he finished counting to a total of sixty-three pounds. Just about then he heard someone approaching and shoved the money into a sock and under his pillow.  
  
Vernon Dursley opened his door and glared at him angrily. "Miss Lafelliere called," he growled. Harry just stared. "She told me that you've been walking her dogs every morning."  
  
Harry silently prayed that she hadn't mentioned any money.  
  
"I don't want you over there bothering that woman any more. No more. If I hear about you being over there one more time, I'm locking you in here until June." With that his angry uncle slammed the door and stormed off. Harry only smiled. Either Madame Yvette hadn't said anything about the money or Vernon had just forgotten! He knew he had at least enough money to buy what he wanted to get for Madison. Still, he was going to miss those cookies.  
  
A sudden thought hit him. How was he going to buy Madison's gift? He couldn't just walk to the nearest shop, Privet Drive was in the suburbs and he wouldn't find a decent jewelry place around there. The city was too far to walk as well.   
  
He thought for a few moments, then smiled and headed upstairs to Dudley's room.  
  
On his way up stairs he looked at the calendar and saw that it was November the eighteenth. He had enough time to find some way to get to a store before the twenty-eighth.  
  
Harry knocked on the door and was answered by an annoyed, "What?" He opened the door. Dudley was sitting on the floor and playing video games on one of his many gaming systems. Harry walked quietly in the room with a slight air of mystery to himself. Dudley looked at him suspiciously.  
  
"What is it?" the young Dursley boy asked.   
  
"Well," said Harry, "I was just noticing how cluttered your room is." He put on a fake look of thoughtfulness. "You've got a VCR, television, and goodness-knows how many gaming systems. Don't you need something to put them all in?"  
  
Dudley looked from his stack of electronics then back to Harry. "Like what?"  
  
"An entertainment center? They'd be nice and neat and you'd have more room for...more stuff." Harry grinned at the look in Dudley's eyes.  
  
Minutes later, Harry was ushered into the car with Petunia. They were going to the store to buy an entertainment center and Harry had to carry it.  
  
-------  
  
Petunia hurried along the aisles of Newman's department store until she came upon the section of small furniture. Harry had followed along until this point when her attention was on sorting through the various bits of furniture. He made sure she was completely lost in thought before he slipped away and made a bee-line for the jewelry section.  
  
He found a small turn-table covered in tiny silver and gold charms. There was a certain time-limit to his browsing. He had to find a charm, a nice one, quickly and get back to Petunia before she noticed he was gone and either left or came looking for him.  
  
Harry quickly spun through the array of charms until his eye caught upon one. He considered it for a moment...two moments. Then, he nodded to himself and asked a sales-clerk to get it out of the case for him.  
  
-------  
  
"Where have you been?" Petunia hissed at Harry as he walked around the corner to the furniture aisle she was on.  
  
"I wasn't paying attention when you walked off," he said simply. She groaned annoyed and pointed to one of the boxes on the bottom of the shelf.   
  
"Get that one," she said.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," said Harry and did as he was told.  
  
The ride back to Privet Drive was short and relaxing with the small charm safe in Harry's pocket.  
  
-------  
  
That night, Harry pulled the plastic store bag from beneath his mattress and opened the packaging to look over his friend's gift. He couldn't wait to give it to her. It wouldn't be long now. Just ten more days and Harry would have the satisfaction of knowing he'd made Madison, his best friend, happy.  
  
He carefully tucked the trinket back into the bag and beneath his mattress once more. A happy sigh escaped him while he took off his glasses and turned off the lights. Life at the number four Privet Drive was a bit more bearable with things like this to keep him going.  
  
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PRESENT: HOGWARTS  
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Ron looked at Hermione. Hermione looked at Ron. They both looked at Harry. What on Earth was he doing?  
  
For some reason, Harry, who wasn't even looking at what he was doing, had somehow carved a half moon out of his mashed potatos with his spoon.  
  
"Harry?" Hermione carefully tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped and splattered mashed potatos across the table. Percy, who now had a blob of white mush in his face, glared at Harry.  
  
"Oh! Sorry, Percy. I really wasn't paying attention," said Harry, hastily tossing the angered Weasley a napkin.  
  
"It's fine," grumbled Percy as he wiped away the mess.  
  
"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Harry?" asked Ron.  
  
"Why do you keep asking me that? Yes, Ron, I'm FINE!" Harry stood up. The Gryffindor table suddenly went quiet. Ron went red in the face.  
  
"Sorry...I'm sorry, Ron. I just need to be alone to think," muttered Harry as he stepped away from the table and walked out of the Great Hall.  
  
Ron and Hermione watched with concern as their friend left. Something was wrong. They needed to find out what before Harry snapped.  
  
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(A/N: You like? Prove it! REVIEW!) 


	5. Guilt and Rage

(A/N: I spent my afternoon looking at images of Daniel Radcliffe in drag...)  
  
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PAST: PRIVET DRIVE  
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"I got one," said Madison.  
  
"Alright. Go on," Harry replied.  
  
"Do vampire bats have the ability to become human?"  
  
"Hmm...that is a good one."  
  
The two leaned against their sides of the fence in thought. They'd been thinking up really idiotic questions to think about all afternoon. Other subjects of ponder had been: if tigers are just big cats, are bears just really big dogs? also: if honey is bee vomit, why are we so keen on eating it? Both had vowed never to eat honey again.  
  
"Maybe," said Harry, "they're just vampires who become bats and get stuck."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I got another one."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Why do they call them 'potato jackets'? Why not just 'potato wraps'? It's one syllable less."  
  
"Good point."  
  
"People are just weird."  
  
"Yeah. Hey! My mummy painted my nails today! Want to see? They're blue!"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Madison stuck her hand through the hole under the fence that Harry had dug and showed him one of her hands. Harry looked at the dark blue nail polish.  
  
"It's a nice color," he said. Then he spotted something. "Say, what happened to your hand? You've got a big cut."  
  
"Oh!" Madison snatched her hand back. "It's nothing. John was opening a package and he slipped with the box-cutter. It was my fault, I was in the way."  
  
"Are you sure...?"  
  
"Yeah! Hey, I got another one," said Madison, hastily changing the subject. "You know, peanuts look nothing like peas. They're not green and they're bigger than peas are."  
  
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PAST: HOGWARTS  
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Harry stood at a window in the hallway. He stared blankly out onto the darkened ground of Hogwarts school and sighed. Hermione and Ron had a right to know why he was so upset. He'd snapped on them like that, they really had a right to know.  
  
He looked up at the stars and cursed out loud. How could he have been so stupid? Ron and Hermione were his best friends. Why did he snap at them that way?  
  
"I'm so stupid," he said to himself. "John didn't slip with the box-cutter...he did it on purpose...Why didn't I realize it before? Why?" Harry growled and kicked the wall. He was greeted with a great deal of pain in his left ankle. "OW!"  
  
Ignoring his ankle now, Harry turned and walked away from the window. As he turned the corner of the hallway, he suddenly ran into someone and fell back onto his rear. He looked up to see who he had run into. It was Draco Malfoy and his 'henchmen', Crabbe and Goyle.  
  
"And I thought he couldn't fly," muttered Draco as he stood up. "Potter can barely even walk!"  
  
Harry sighed in annoyance and stood up. "I'm in no mood to fight with you, Malfoy. I didn't mean to run into you." He began to walk around them.  
  
"Drop something?" Malfoy said in a teasing voice. Harry turned. Draco had the bracelet.  
  
"So, Potter, you're a cross-dresser as well as a nutcase?"  
  
"Give that back," Harry growled. His eyes narrowed in anger. Draco smirked and walked to the window. He held the bracelet out the window and waved it slightly.  
  
"Care to make a wager? Your girly charm bracelet if you say 'My name is Harry Potty and I love my buck-toothed friend, Hermione Granger.' In front of everyone," Draco said with a laugh.   
  
"Just give it back!" Harry yelled. He lunged at Draco.  
  
"Fetch!" Draco dropped the bracelet from the window and stood back as Harry leaned over the windowsill.  
  
"No!" cried Harry. He turned around and glared at Draco for a second. Then, he tackled him.  
  
"GET HIM OFF ME! GET HI--OWW!!" Harry had punched Draco in the nose. The dark-haired boy stood and ran off down the hallway.  
  
He had to get outside. He had to find that bracelet.   
  
Draco sat up with blood running down his robes and scowled. "Rotten...that...Potter," he spat. Crabbe helped him up. Draco elbowed him in the ribs.  
  
"Nice of you to help me!" he yelled. "Maybe I could've used it when that idiot was hitting me!"  
  
------  
  
Harry ran outside and over to the courtyard where Draco had dropped the bracelet. He had to find it. He had to find it or he would breakdown completely...  
  
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(A/N: YAY FOR ME!) 


	6. Haunted Eyes

(A/N: Snow day! More time to look at pictures of Danny in drag! WOO!  
  
http://www.danradcliffefanrealm.com/playthatiwrote.htm  
  
Enjoy, all you pervy Danny Radcliffe fans!  
  
Extra note: Someone said they thought the charm that Harry got for Madison was a half moon. No, no...that was just something random for him to do with the potatos. It's not a half moon.)  
  
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PRESENT: HOGWARTS  
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"Where is it?!" Harry asked aloud as he kneeled down onto the ground. It was too dark to see. He held up his wand. "Lumos." The wand's tip emitted a soft glow that enabled him to see the ground. The bracelet was no where in sight.  
  
"Ugh...damn that Malfoy!" he cried, pointing his wand around frantically to search for the bracelet.  
  
"Harry?" came a voice from behind him. He turned, it was Ron with Hermione. Harry stared at them blankly.  
  
"What're you looking for?" asked Hermione as she stepped forward towards him. "Maybe we can help."  
  
The dark haired Gryffindor sighed and nodded. "Ron, you remember that bracelet? Malfoy dropped it out the window. It's mostly silver, Hermione, and it's got to be somewhere out here."  
  
His friends nodded quietly and lit their wands as well before beginning their search.  
  
Ten minutes passed. All of their noses had gone numb from the cold. Harry groaned in exasperation as he peeked behind a hedge. Suddenly, Ron kneeled down.  
  
"I found it!" he yelled.  
  
"Really?" Harry ran over to him. Ron held up the bracelet for Harry to see.  
  
"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much, Ron! I owe you! I owe you...uh..." Harry thought for a moment.  
  
"Letting us go inside to thaw out would do, Harry," Ron said with a laugh. Hermione smiled and nodded in agreement.  
  
"Alright. C'mon," said Harry as he took the bracelet from Ron and looked it over for a damage check before he pocketed it.  
  
They walked silently back into the school and up the main staircase. When they got to the stairs for the second floor (they were headed for Gryffindor tower), Hermione finally piped up.  
  
"Harry, where did you get that bracelet...?"  
  
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PAST: PRIVET DRIVE  
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"Alright, I've had it. Madison, wait here."  
  
"What? Where are you going, Harry?"  
  
"I'll be right back. Just wait here." Harry stood up from the cold ground. It was November twenty-fifth. Three days until Madison's birthday. He could only just wait to give her her present, but he just couldn't stand not having seen her face. She'd told him at some point that she wasn't allowed outside in the front yard because her mum said the street was too dangerous. That was a total lie.  
  
"Well...okay..." Madison said.   
  
"Thanks!" The boy ran into the back door of the Dursley's house. He came back a few moments later with a hammer.  
  
"Stand back a bit, Madison," he said.  
  
"Hmm? Okay." She did as she was told. "I did. What are you doing?"  
  
"You'll see." Harry approached the fence and starting prying loose the nails. Madison cocked her head to the side in a state of confusion. (I love that phrase.)   
  
Three minutes later, Harry pulled off two of the fence boards and peeked around into the neighboring yard. A little girl stepped away from the fence to get a better look at the boy who was currently staring at her.  
  
She was slightly shorter than Harry, with large, dark blue eyes. Her hair was dark, dark brown. It was almost black. What she wore matched the weather fairly enough. It was a black sweater over thick blue jeans and blue sneakers. Her nose was slightly red and Harry spotted a small scar across her right cheek. She smiled at him and her eyes lit up. Harry just stared. She was beautiful.  
  
There was a moment where both children stared at one another.  
  
"Well," said Madison, interrupting the silence. "It's nice to finally see you."  
  
"You too," said Harry.   
  
They both looked each other over again.   
  
"You'd better put that back," Madison said as she looked behind her at the back door of her house, "before someone comes out here or sees. We'd get in a lot of trouble."  
  
"Yeah..." Harry sighed and reluctantly placed the first board back in its place. Madison held it there for him while he nailed it back in, smiling at him in warm admirance. He picked up the second board and she held it there as well as he nailed it back in.  
  
Her image was imprinted in his mind forever.  
  
-------  
  
At around six o'clock that night, the Dursley's and Harry sat down at dinner. Roast chicken, green beans, and corn. Harry, of course, had gotten the small, burnt piece of chicken. He didn't mind. The boy was sort of in a daze about what had happened earlier that day. He just couldn't stop thinking about Madison's eyes and how haunted they looked.  
  
"Have you met the family next door, Vernon?" asked Petunia as she cut Dudley a third piece of chicken.  
  
"I spoke with the husband once," replied her husband, "The man has no work ethics. He's a lazy git."  
  
Harry said nothing but focused his attention on the corn. He imagined it to be a flock of canaries making their way to the ocean of green beans across the cold tundra of white china.  
  
"I met the wife when I went to get the post this morning," said Petunia. "That woman looks horrible. She wore no make-up and her hair was a mess!"  
  
The flock of canaries began to spread out across the tundra. There was a giant monster with burnt edges coming after them. They needed to get to the sea of green beans quickly. The monster wouldn't catch them there.  
  
"Have you seen the daughter?" chimed in Dudley, always one to like having attention upon himself.  
  
The canaries crashed into the sea of green beans. The monster roared angrily in defeat and retreated back to it's side of the tundra.  
  
"I haven't yet," said Petunia, looking at her son admiringly. In her eyes, he was growing into quite the conversationalist.  
  
"Well, I have. From my bedroom window I saw her in her back yard," said Dudley in a matter-of-fact kind of voice. "She's weird. She went over to our fence and started talking to it."  
  
The sea of green beans was overtaken by a storm and the canaries were lost beneath the waves.   
  
"She was talking to our fence?" asked Vernon. "Poor child must have a mental problem..."  
  
The tundra began to flood and the monster as well was taken by the sea.  
  
"And she's ugly! Her eyes are huge! She's a freak!" Dudley laughed loudly.  
  
KER-SPLOOSH!  
  
"AGH!"  
  
Dudley fell over in his chair. Petunia shrieked. Vernon stood up while Dudley proceeded to screaming like a five year-old girl.  
  
"What happened?!" screeched Dudley as he stood. He was covered in his own dinner which had somehow exploded off of his plate.   
  
Petunia looked at Vernon. Vernon looked at Harry.  
  
Harry was clutching his fork like a weapon and looking down at his plate as if it were the only thing in the world that mattered.  
  
"It...uh...a bit of plaster must've fallen from the roof, dear," said Petunia as she took Dudley's arm. "Let's go into the bathroom and get you washed up."  
  
"But I didn't see anything!" Dudley protested. "My food exploded! What did you put in it?!"  
  
"Do as your mother says, Dudley," said Vernon. His eyes hadn't moved from Harry.  
  
Harry hadn't even looked up.  
  
------  
(A/N: I'm sleepy.) 


	7. Madison's Birthday

(A/N: Time for author's notes!!  
  
1) This story is going to get depressing!! I already warned you of that.  
  
2) The reason Harry didn't use Accio to get the bracelet when Malfoy dropped it is because he didn't think about it. When you're really upset about something, do you think logically? I know I don't. ^-^  
  
3) Why Dudley only saw Madison from his window: Harry wasn't outside and Madison was looking for him.  
  
Is that good? Yes? Yes? Feel free to put any other questions in a review. Moving on!)  
  
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PAST: PRIVET DRIVE  
------  
  
It was November twenty-eight at last. Madison's birthday. But Harry was locked in the cupboard under the stairs. He didn't understand why. Vernon had only told him that he needed to calm down after what had happened three days before when Dudley's food had exploded in his face. It's not like it was Harry's fault. Besides, Dudley was just asking for it when he called Madison a freak.  
  
"She's not a freak," muttered Harry and he kicked his legs off the edge of his bed. "I have to get outside! It's her birthday..." He sighed.  
  
It was about six in the evening. He didn't have much time to give her her gift.  
  
A few moments later, his door swung open. Dudley looked in at him somewhat cautiously.  
  
"Mum said you can come to dinner if you calm down," he said, leaving the door open and walking off to the dining room.  
  
Harry stood and peeked out the door. Would they miss him if he didn't show up? Most likely not, all he did was sit there and imagine his dinner was a magical scenery of china with fantastic food animals. That wasn't much to pay attention to. Besides, what did she mean if he 'calmed down'? He hadn't done anything. Oh, well, opportunity is not a lengthy visitor. Harry grinned and pulled his shoes on.   
  
After putting on his shoes and grabbing his coat, Harry stepped out of his room and closed the door quietly behind him. He made his way past the door to the kitchen and to the front door. He opened it and stepped out into the cool evening air.  
  
He closed the door quietly behind him and made his way around the house and to the back gate, making sure to avoid being in front of the windows. The gate door was unlocked, so Harry just walked on into the back yard and immediately ducked behind a hedge. The window from the dining room looked right into the back yard.   
  
Making his way from hedge to hedge, Harry eventually got to the part of the fence where he usually met Madison and sat down on the dirt-worn spot beside it.  
  
"Madison?" he called.  
  
"Harry!" he heard her reply with a soft squeal of girly happiness. "I haven't spoken to you in almost three days, I was getting worried! I thought that maybe I wouldn't get to talk to you today. It's my birthday today, you know. I'm ten today!"  
  
"I remembered," said Harry, leaning against his side of the fence. "Happy birthday."  
  
"Thanks," Madison sighed. "Too bad it's different this year. Nothing new on the bracelet, I guess."  
  
Harry grinned a little. "Madison, can I see your bracelet again?"  
  
"Oh...alright, but be careful with it."  
  
"I will."  
  
After a moment, Madison's hand appeared in the hole between the fences that Harry had dug and she handed him her silver charm bracelet. Harry took it and made some 'hmm'ing sounds as if he were thinking.  
  
"What are you doing?" asked Madison.  
  
"Just admiring it," he lied, carefully attaching his present onto the bracelet. When he was done, he held the bracelet out to look over his work. There, between the silver kitten and the silver horse, was the golden heart charm he'd bought her. "Here you go."  
  
He handed it back to her through the space and waited. Five, four, three, two...  
  
"OH, HARRY! THANK YOU!" Madison's hand grabbed his own and held it tightly. "Thank you so much! You don't know what this means to me, thank you!"  
  
Harry could only laugh. "You're very welcome, Madison."  
  
"Oh! Oh, oh, oh! It's so lovely!"  
  
"I'm glad you like it."  
  
"I love it!"  
  
"Then, I'm ecstatic!"  
  
They both laughed for a few moments. Madison's laughter faded away into uncontrolled sobbing. Harry cocked his head to the side confusedly.   
  
"What's the matter?" he asked.  
  
"N-nothing!" she cried. "N-no one has e-ever do-done anything li-like this for me be-before!"  
  
"And I've never done anything like this for anyone, so, I guess we're on like terms," said Harry with a small laugh.  
  
"Oh, thank you, Harry! Thank you so, so much!" Madison squeezed his hand as tightly as she could.  
  
Harry grinned from ear to ear. "You're welcome, Madison."  
  
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PRESENT: HOGWARTS  
--------  
  
Ron and Hermione both looked to Harry expectantly.  
  
"Where did you get it?" Hermione repeated.  
  
"It's...well...it's a long story," stammered Harry, nervously running his fingers over the bracelet in his cloak pocket.  
  
"It's after dinner, we have time," chimed in Ron, curious to know as well.  
  
Harry turned and stepped up onto the stairs a little. "I'll tell you in the common room," he said. "I'd like to sit down for a while."  
  
"Alright," said Hermione, her and Ron both following Harry up the stairs.  
  
Moments later, they arrive at the portrait hole.   
  
"Password?" asked the Fat Lady, rubbing her eyes sleepily.  
  
"Benzat rosin," said Ron.   
  
The woman nodded and the portrait hole swung open.  
  
(A/N: Benzoate, glycerol of wood rosin=ingredients in orange soda.)  
  
The group stepped into the Gryffindor common room and was relieved to see it empty. Everyone was still at dinner.  
  
"Okay, Harry," said Hermione as she sat down in one of the burgundy chairs near the fireplace. "Spill it."  
  
Ron sat down as well and sank into his chair somewhat lazily. "Yeah, come on."  
  
Harry sat down in a chair between the two of them, not very close to the fire. "Alright, well, it started when I was only ten..."  
  
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(A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been really busy with school work. Kippinator, E-MAIL ME! Sinne@mookymail.com!) 


	8. Terror Roots

(A/N: This chapter brought to you by the number eight.)  
  
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Harry lay in his bed in the cupboard under the stairs, his hands behind his head and his face alit with the memory of Madison's reaction to his gift. He began to think of what he might be able to get her for Christmas, seeing as though he still had some money left over from the department store outing. Maybe he could get her a necklace to match one of the charms on her bracelet.   
  
He couldn't help but snicker at how angry Vernon was when he caught Harry in the back yard and how purple the large man's face was. The Dursley adults had since then promised to lock Harry in his cupboard until summer, but it had only been three days and Harry could already tell they were letting their guard down.  
  
Petunia had forgotten to lock the door back the last time she let Harry out to use the bathroom and would've left it like that had Harry not found her in the den and reminded her. Her red-faced embarassment in front of Vernon was enough to make another three days of being locked up pretty much bearable.  
  
Finally the day came that Harry couldn't take it any more. He had to see her again. One can only stand being locked in a cupboard for so long. Harry woke up that morning and was almost in physical pain for longing to talk to Madison. An hour after he woke, Petunia came down to open the door to let him use the bathroom.   
  
She followed him up the stairs and waited outside the door for him, then followed him back downstairs and to the cupboard. He stepped back inside, but just as she slammed the lock, he pushed the door slightly so that the lock didn't go into place. Satisfied and thinking that she had locked him in securely, Petunia had then left.  
  
Harry, now full of a childish glee, waited with good spirits until he heard each of the Dursley's go into the kitchen for their breakfast. His would've been that of a peice of toast and half a glass of orange juice. Not very hearty. Once he believed that they had each settled down to eat, he snuck almost silently out of his cupboard and over to the front door where, in the future, hundreds of letters with his name on them would come flying out of the mailslot.   
  
He stole quietly out the door and around to the backyard where he did the same as he had on Madison's birthday and took behind the hedges, slinking along behind them until he came to the spot where they usually talked.   
  
"Madison?" he called hopefully. There was no answer. Oh well, he could wait.  
  
-------  
  
Minutes passed. Thirty minutes...fourty-five...an hour. Harry grew bored with building a miniature hut with broken twigs and leaves pulled from the brush around him. Finally, after about an hour and twenty minutes, he heard foot-steps behind him in Madison's yard.  
  
"Hello?" came Madison's shaky voice.  
  
"Madison!" called Harry happily.  
  
The girl broke down into tears and said, "Harry, something's wrong." Her hand reached up under the fence and held onto his wrist. He reached over and patted her hand.  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
"My...my mum," sobbed Madison, "she's n-not moving..."  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Harry with concern.  
  
"John and my mum were fighting...and...and...John...he...he broke the table...and...mum was yelling at him...but when I left the house, she wasn't moving..."  
  
Panic swelled in Harry. "Well...we gotta do something. We gotta tell someone, or call the police," he said in the shaky voice of a frightened child.  
  
A huge sob emitted from the girl. "I can't! John said if I come back in the house he'd punish me!" She sighed and said, "Here, Harry."  
  
Harry felt her pull her hand away and a moment later she had dropped her beloved bracelet into his hand.   
  
"Take care of it for me? Every time John looks at it, he looks like he wants to just rip it up," Madison sniffled, "I couldn't stand to lose it, Harry, but I trust you. Please, Harry. Please take care of it for me, just until John calms down and my mum gets better."  
  
The boy put the bracelet into his pocket and held onto her hand tightly. "I will. I promise I'll never let anything bad happen to it." There was a level of truth in his voice that Madison couldn't possibly doubt.  
  
Just then, the back door of Madison's house flung open. Harry could hear glass the breaking off of it as it hit the side of the house. Madison shrieked and held Harry's hand as tightly as she could.  
  
"Be as quiet as you can," she hissed to him.  
  
Harry squeezed her hand in reply and they both waited, petrified, for the horror that was John to pass.  
  
-------  
  
"MADISON?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" slurred John as he trampled through the back yard. Harry could hear him knocking over the lawn chairs and kicking at the bushes.  
  
"Stupid girl! I KNOW YOU'RE OUT HERE!" the man screamed. It was easy to notice that he was drunk and undoubtedly violent. Madison reached her other hand down and clung to Harry's as if for dear life. Harry could sense her fear. It scared him too.  
  
The fence shook as John threw a chair at it. Madison squeaked, Harry could feel her start to tremble.  
  
"AH-HAH!" Harry could hear more stomping. "You're talking to that boy again, eh?!" Suddenly there was a rustle of bushes and Madison screamed. Her hand was jerked away from his. Harry stood up.  
  
"Let her go!" he yelled, trying to hop over the fence. As Harry pulled himself up over the wooden planks of the fence, he caught a glimpse of of John's face before the man reached out and punched Harry, knocking him out.   
  
The last thing Harry heard before his world faded away in a swirl of leaves was Madison's terrified scream.  
  
"Don't, John! Please! NO!" There was a terrible cracking sound and Harry heard, saw, and generally knew no more.  
  
-------  
(A/N: The next few chapters are going to be REALLY angsty. Prepare yourselves.) 


	9. Sirens and Caution Tape

(A/N: I answer a question!  
  
Q: Did Madison tell her parents about talking to Harry?  
A: No, she did not. John knew all along, he just didn't say anything because it got Madison out of the house.  
  
Life is short; dance naked.)  
  
------  
PRESENT: HOGWARTS  
------  
  
Harry stared down at his trembling hands and hastily hid them in his pockets. "So...I heard this cracking sound, you know? Like someone breaking wood or something," he said. The boy spoke with a throat tightened with tears begging to pour.   
  
Hermione reached out and put a hand on his upper arm in attempted comfort. "Are you okay?" she asked, her brown eyes glimmering with concern.  
  
"You know, Harry," said Ron rather quietly, "you don't have to tell us all of this tonight. You can finish tomorrow or something, if you're...y'know...not feeling alright." The boy fidgeted uneasily with the corner of his robes. He didn't like seeing his friend upset like this.  
  
"No," said Harry. He took a deep breath and pulled a hand from his pocket to wipe his eyes, trying to keep a the few tears there discreet. "Just let me finish."  
  
"Alright," they each said in unision. Harry smiled slightly. He had great friends.  
  
"Anyway, after that cracking sound, I passed out," he continued, "and when I woke up the next morning..." His throat tightened a bit more, but he went on.  
  
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PAST: PRIVET DRIVE  
------  
  
A low whining sound stirred Harry from his sleep. His eyes fluttered open, he gasped and sat up. He was back in his cupboard! A sudden pain hit him and he reached up to feel a slightly swollen bruise on his left cheek. Harry groaned.  
  
What was that noise? It sounded kind of like...sirens. Of course, why would there be sirens?  
  
The memories of what had happened the night before came at him like a speeding train. John's drunken rambling, Madison being so scared, her giving him the bracelet, and then her screaming...screaming...and that horrible sound.   
  
Panic rooted in Harry. He jumped out of the bed to see that he was still wearing his shoes. The Dursley's must've just dragged him inside and lay him in the bed. But, there wasn't time to ponder over that. He had to go see where those sirens were coming from and...and he needed to know what had happened to Madison.  
  
------  
  
There was no one in the house to stop him from getting to the door. It was as if they'd just abandoned the place entirely. Maybe they went somewhere while he was asleep and hadn't come back yet? Still, there were those sirens. Surely the Dursley's would want to see what those were all about, especially Petunia.  
  
Harry placed his hand on the door knob and held his breath. He knew something really bad had happened last night and he wasn't sure if he was ready to see the outcome just yet. But, if something was wrong, he needed to be there for Madison. She was probably really upset and she didn't have anyone to talk to except him.  
  
With a determined nod to himself, Harry turned the knob and pushed the door open. What awaited him on Privet Drive was really not what his ten year-old mind expected to see.  
  
------  
  
The entire street was full of people and cars. There were at least three police cars all clustered in front of Madison's house and two more trying to block the street. A 'DO NOT CROSS' line went from the outer part of the Dursley's front yard and all around Madison's house. People from all up and down the street came to gawk at the site, only to be pushed back by officers in dark blue uniforms who waved nightsticks threateningly to those who tried to pass.  
  
People turned to stare at Harry as he slowly walked out onto the lawn to get a better view of Madison's house. A man in a uniform gave up trying to push people back and ran over to Harry.   
  
"You live here?" the man asked.   
  
Harry could only nod.  
  
"Alright, come with me," said the man as he took Harry's hand and began pulling him over to the cluster of police cars. He led Harry over to the one farthest from Madison's house.  
  
"Stay right here," he said in a firm tone.  
  
Once again, Harry simply nodded.  
  
"There's a good lad," said the man, patting Harry on the shoulder before he walked over to fend off onlookers.  
  
Another siren sounded in the distance and Harry turned to see an ambulance come rolling down the street. Dread hit him as if fired from a cannon. The ambulance came to a stop outside of the small barrier the police cars had made. The door on the back popped open and three people jumped out. A police man waved to them and beckoned them over towards Madison's house.   
  
Harry watched them pull a stretcher from the ambulance and wheel it over Madison's lawn, then into the house. A few moments later, it was wheeled back out, but differently. There was someone on top of it...and that someone was covered in a white sheet...Harry could tell by the long form and the obvious protrusions of a woman's breasts that it wasn't Madison. Still, the sight chilled him horribly. It just had to be Madison's mother.  
  
He wondered where Madison was. Probably, hopefully, just crying somewhere with a different police man. Harry looked down to see that his arms were shaking terribly. 'Please,' he thought, 'please, Madison, please be okay...'  
  
The people from the ambulance pushed the sheeted figure on the stretcher up into the ambulance and brought out another stretcher.  
  
'Oh, God, no,' thought Harry.  
  
They began wheeling it toward the house--  
  
'No, no...' He began to tremble.  
  
--and in through the front door--  
  
'Please, not Madison, please...' His chest tightened, he stopped breathing.  
  
--moments later, they wheeled out another, smaller, figure.  
  
"No!" cried Harry. He ran forth and slid under the caution tape, then stood and ran towards the people from the ambulance. Several officers cried out, but he evaded their sweeping arms and made his way quickly to the stretcher.  
  
The three people looked at him sadly.  
  
------  
(A/N: Really sucky place to end a chapter, huh? Sorry...) 


	10. Revenge, Somewhat

(A/N: Prepare for the sadness!)  
  
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PAST: PRIVET DRIVE  
-------  
  
Harry stared down at the figure covered with a stark white sheet. He couldn't move; his entire body just refused to do anything. The three paramedics exchanged confused glances. Finally, the female out of the three stepped around the stretcher and took Harry by the shoulders, turning him away.  
  
"Do you live around here?" she asked gently, lifting his chin to look at him.  
  
"Y-yes..." Harry stammered in reply.  
  
The woman glanced back at the stretcher, then to Harry again. "Do you know the people who live here?"  
  
"I-I know Madison. I-is she okay?" Harry grasped the woman's upper arms desperately.  
  
She looked up past Harry to the approaching policeman. The policeman grabbed Harry roughly and spun him around, then stopped when he saw the redness in Harry's eyes. The poor boy was on the verge of tears.  
  
"Kid, what're you doing?" the man asked, kneeling down.  
  
"I was...I just..." Harry looked down, wringing the hem of his shirt now.  
  
"You're not supposed to be over here. Come on, now."   
  
"But..." Harry turned around and looked at the sheeted figure, shivering. "She...I...I can't leave her alone..."   
  
"Kid," started the policeman, carefully taking Harry by the forearm. "Listen, we'll have someone call you. You can't be over here!"  
  
"SHE'S MY BEST FRIEND!" cried Harry suddenly. He jerked his arm away from the man and as the man's grip gave way, Harry's arm swung back and shifted the sheet on the body behind him. With a gasp, Harry turned around.  
  
A long lock of dark, dark brown, almost black hair was revealed. The color stood out easily on the cold white background of the sheet. Harry's eyes widened, his heart raced.   
  
"No...no...that...she...Madison!" His legs gave way and Harry fell to his knees. The paramedics took this as a good time to wheel the stretcher away.  
  
"Kid...kid, you really can't be over here..." said the policeman gently. He helped Harry to his feet and led the sobbing boy over to the caution tape.  
  
Suddenly there came a furious scream from behind the two. Harry turned to see John being led out of the house by two officers, one holding each of his arms. The jangling silver on his wrists told Harry that he was wearing handcuffs.  
  
'John...' thought Harry, his eyes narrowing. He remembered what had happened the night before. It was John. John had killed Madison. John had taken away Harry's only friend. The sadness inside of young Harry quickly transmogrified into all-out rage. He stared at the man with utmost hate, wishing to whatever high power there is that John would just drop dead on the spot.  
  
"OW!" John suddenly cried. "Jeez, what're you doing?! These cuffs'r too tight!"  
  
"They were fine when I put em' on," replied the officer holding is right arm.  
  
"No...they're getting tighter...aw, damn! AUGH!" John cried out in pain and the officer with his left arm suddenly gasped. There was blood running down his arm.  
  
"What the hell?!" cried the officer.  
  
"What's going on?!" the other gasped.  
  
Suddenly there was a huge 'CRACK!' that shattered the air. John's scream of agony rang out a moment later. His wrists had been crushed by the rapidly tightening metal cuffs.  
  
From there on, Harry couldn't remember anything other than being led away. He woke up in his room a few hours later.  
  
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PRESENT: HOGWARTS  
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"And from there can't remember anything, except that I woke up in my room a few hours later," finished Harry with a tremorous sigh.  
  
Hermione sniffed and hastily wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Ron put a hand on Harry's shoulder, at a loss for words himself.   
  
"Maybe we should...uhm...leave you alone for a while..." Ron said quietly.  
  
"No," said Harry firmly. The other two Gryffindors looked up at him curiously. "That's not the end of the story." Harry finished.  
  
"Oh?" asked Hermione.  
  
Harry shook his head and said, "There's more..."  
  
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PAST: PRIVET DRIVE  
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It had been a week since Madison's death. According to the police report, her step-father, John, had smashed the dining table and beat his wife to death with one of the legs. Then, he went outside and gave Madison one good blow on the head, killing her instantly.  
  
The police had come by to talk to Harry. They asked him how he knew Madison, and he told them. They asked him what happened to his face, and he told them. Whatever they asked him, he gave a full-honest response, but the entire time he would stare at the wall and speak as if talking to himself. He showed no emotion at all. It was as if from the moment he collapsed in front of the policeman a week before until then, his emotions had just ceased to work.  
  
The Dursley's avoided him more than they had before. They treated him like a grenade with the pin already pulled out, as if he would explode at any moment. They actually hadn't even spoken to him since that day, a week before.   
  
Harry didn't mind. He had someone to talk to. Every once in a while, he'd take the silver charm bracelet out of his pocket and have a one-sided conversation with it.   
  
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(A/N: In case you're wondering, yes. Harry has lost his poor widdle mind.) 


End file.
